BY KELSEY PURCELL, FEATURES ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
The first three episodes of the new Peacock television series, “Bel-Air,” were released on Feb. 13. The show is a re-imagination of the hit 90’s television series, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
Will Smith, who starred in the original series is one of the executive producers of the remake. T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson are also executive producers and co-showrunners. Morgan Cooper is the director, co-writer and executive producer.
Cooper first came up with the idea for the show and uploaded a mock trailer to YouTube. It went viral and Smith saw it and got his entertainment company, Westbrook Inc., involved. Netflix, HBO Max and Peacock were bidding for rights to the show. An agreement was made with Peacock, which approved the show for two seasons.
Jabari Banks plays Will Smith, the main character. April Park Jones plays Viola “Vy” Smith, Smith’s mother. Adrian Holmes plays Phillip Banks, Smith’s uncle who is a lawyer. Cassandra Freeman plays Vivian Banks, Smith’s aunt. Coco Jones plays Hilary Banks, Smith’s oldest cousin. Olly Sholotan plays Carlton Banks, Smith’s middle cousin and opponent. Akira Akbar plays Ashley Banks, Smith’s youngest cousin. Jimmy Akingbola plays Geoffery, the Banks’s house manager. Simone Joy Jones plays Lisa Wilkes, Carlton’s ex-girlfriend. Tyler Barnhardt plays Connor Satterfield, Carlton’s best friend. Jordan L. Jones plays Jazz, a taxi driver that Smith bonded with. Charlie Hall plays Tyler Laramy, Smith’s teammate at Bel-Air Academy. SteVonté Hart plays Tray Melbert, Smith’s friend in Philadelphia.
Jabari Banks is the lead of the show. “Bel-Air” is his television acting debut. Before landing this role, he had only acted in a short film. The 23-year-old actor is from West Philadelphia, like Will Smith. Banks said he was honored to be casted as Will Smith and looks up to the actor as a role model.
In an interview with People, Banks said, “It’s been such a humbling, humbling experience.” The actor added, “I’m just so grateful to be able to step into these shoes and give back to my community in this way.”
The new series has a much more dramatic and serious undertone than the first, which was a sitcom. Banks said, “There’s no way that we could do a Fresh Prince reboot and have it be a sitcom.” He explained, “What they made in the 90s was lighting in a bottle. You don’t recreate that. You don’t touch that. That’s okay.”
The premise of the show is that Smith gets in a fight while playing basketball in West Philadelphia. His mother decides to send him to live with his relatives in Bel-Air in order to protect him from people who are trying to get back at him from the fight. Smith has to adapt to his living with his family. He faces struggles finding his place in his new neighborhood. He has a hard time fitting in at his new school. The dramatized new version includes more violence and conflict, whereas the original was a lighthearted comedy.
Anyone interested can watch the show on Peacock. New episodes will be released on Thursdays.
